Inquiries to Posse Your IT Support Provider, Especially If You Are a Hybrid Cloud Business Entity
In today's dynamic IT landscape, businesses are grappling with the complexities of cloud and hybrid environments. This shift has led to increased dissatisfaction among customers with traditional vendors, prompting many to seek alternatives [1].
To thrive in this new environment, vendors must adapt and evolve. They should provide security patches for customised environments, help reduce operational IT costs, and support customisations, not just the base code [2].
A key consideration is the average response time of the vendor's engineers. Swift and efficient problem-solving is crucial in maintaining service quality and customer satisfaction [3].
Support teams in this hybrid IT landscape must adapt and evolve. They do this by adopting updated processes, leveraging automation and AI tools, and fostering strong communication and collaboration [4]. Intelligent agents powered by large language models (LLMs) help monitor and manage resources, orchestrating complex tasks like migration, security policy enforcement, performance monitoring, and cost optimization [2][4].
Successful IT landscapes will transform from single-vendor product suites to a hybrid IT landscape of core transaction systems and best-of-breed applications [5]. This shift raises questions about interoperability, data privacy, and control of sensitive company data [6].
To ensure a seamless transition, businesses should understand the terms of their SLAs with the vendor, inquire about the migration path to the next generation of products and associated costs, and ask for support references from satisfied customers [7].
Moreover, the support function will have to evolve significantly in the next five years to remain relevant. CIOs are tasked with developing agile, responsive IT infrastructures that can blend traditional and Cloud-based systems, fostering a 'Support First' culture that evaluates situations with the user's needs at its core and demonstrates a holistic understanding of the implications of change for the business [8].
As businesses assess potential vendors, it's important to consider the vendor's support engineers' experience, location, and time zone. Additionally, inquiring about the vendor's staff retention rate can provide insights into their commitment to their customers [9].
Lastly, the vendor's support cost is a factor to consider for businesses. The goal is to find a vendor that offers better value, more services, a better service experience, and lower cost [1]. By prioritizing these factors, businesses can navigate the complexities of the hybrid IT landscape with confidence.
[1] Customers are seeking options that provide better value, more services, a better service experience, and lower cost. (Source: Unspecified) [2] Vendors should provide security patches for customised environments. (Source: Unspecified) [3] The average response time of the vendor's engineers is a key consideration. (Source: Unspecified) [4] Support teams in a hybrid IT landscape adapt and evolve by adopting updated processes, leveraging automation and AI tools, and fostering strong communication and collaboration. (Source: Unspecified) [5] Successful IT landscapes will transform from single-vendor product suites to a hybrid IT landscape of core transaction systems and best-of-breed applications. (Source: Unspecified) [6] The shift towards hybrid IT landscapes raises questions about interoperability, data privacy, and control of sensitive company data. (Source: Unspecified) [7] Businesses should understand the terms of their SLAs with the vendor, inquire about the migration path to the next generation of products and associated costs, and ask for support references from satisfied customers. (Source: Unspecified) [8] A 'Support First' culture is necessary, which evaluates situations with the user's needs at its core and demonstrates a holistic understanding of the implications of change for the business. (Source: Unspecified) [9] It's important to assess the vendor's support engineers' experience, location, and time zone. (Source: Unspecified)
To navigate the complexities of the hybrid IT landscape effectively, businesses should prioritize vendors that offer security patches for customized environments [2], provide swift and efficient problem-solving [3], and have experienced support engineers across various locations and time zones [9]. In the future, these vendors should adopt updated processes, leverage automation and AI tools, and foster strong communication and collaboration in their support teams [4], with a focus on developing agile, responsive IT infrastructures [8]. Prioritizing these factors will help businesses ensure better value, more services, a better service experience, and lower cost [1].
